Head rest lock

Abstract

A head rest lock enables the adjusting of the elevational position of a head rest of a vehicle seat having sleeves that serve as vertical guides for support posts having lock notches therein, the notches providing a plurality of vertical height adjustment positions. The sleeves include a lock latch for manually activating the adjustable height mechanism and ribs which prevent inadvertent rotation of said sleeve. The head rest lock is mountable to a bracket or directly to a seat back frame.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A head rest lock comprising: at least one support post, said support post having at least one lock notch therein, said lock notch being positioned only on one side of said support post;   a sleeve slidably supporting said support post, said sleeve including means for lockingly attaching to said support post;   a seat back bracket, said sleeve being attached to said seat back bracket; and   a headrest bracket, said headrest bracket being attached to said support post;   said means for lockingly attaching said sleeve to said support post includes a resilient lock clip mounted within said sleeve and against said support post, said lock clip being snappingly fitable within said lock notch whenever said sleeve is positioned along said support post placing said lock clip adjacent to said lock notch, and wherein said sleeve includes a head portion having a slot therein, said resilient lock clip being mounted within said slot, said head including a lock latch being pivotally mounted within said slot and adjacent said lock clip, whereby, whenever said lock clip is within said lock notch, rotation of said lock latch causes said lock latch to push against said lock clip, which in turn, forces said lock clip to move out of said lock notch, thereby, allowing said sleeve to freely slide along said support post.   
     
     
       2. A head rest lock as in claim 1 wherein said sleeve includes means to prevent said sleeve from rotating around said support post; said means to prevent said sleeve from rotating includes said sleeve having a rotational lock rib and said seat back bracket having an aperture with a rotational lock notch therein, said rotational lock rib being positioned in said rotational lock notch, thereby, preventing rotation of said sleeve within said aperture.   
     
     
       3. A head rest lock comprising: at least one support post, said support post having at least one lock notch therein;   a sleeve slidably supporting said support post, said sleeve including a latch which locks and releases said support post for vertical movement;   a seat back frame, said sleeve being attached to said seat back frame;   a headrest bracket, said headrest bracket being attached to said support post;   said latch includes a resilient lock clip mounted within said sleeve and against said support post, said lock clip being snappingly fitable within said lock notch whenever said sleeve is positioned along said support post placing said lock clip adjacent to said lock notch, wherein, said sleeve includes a head portion having a slot therein, said resilient lock clip being mounted within said slot, said head including a lock latch being pivotally mounted within said slot and adjacent said lock clip, whereby, whenever said lock clip is within said lock notch, rotation of said lock latch causes said lock latch to push against said lock clip, which in turn, forces said lock clip to move out of said lock notch, thereby, allowing said sleeve to freely slide along said support post.   
     
     
       4. A head rest lock comprising: at least one support post, said support post having at least one lock notch therein;   a sleeve slidably supporting said support post, said sleeve including a latch which locks and releases said support post for vertical movement;   a seat back frame, said sleeve being attached to said seat back frame;   a headrest bracket, said headrest bracket being attached to said support post   said latch includes a resilient lock clip mounted within said sleeve and against said support post, said lock clip being snappingly fitable within said lock notch whenever said sleeve is positioned along said support post placing said lock clip adjacent to said lock notch,   said sleeve includes a rotational lock rib which prevents said sleeve from rotating around said support post,   said rib engages a seat back bracket having an aperture with a rotational lock notch therein, said rib being positioned in said notch, thereby preventing rotation of said sleeve within said aperture.   
     
     
       5. A head rest lock for a vehicle seat back comprising: a sleeve adapted to be mounted to said seat back, said sleeve being of substantially cylindrical form and having an aperture of substantially cylindrical form;   a post of substantially cylindrical form having an exterior surface, a first end slidably receivable in said aperture and a second end opposite said first end;   a headrest for resisting loads imposed by vehicle acceleration or deceleration along a seat axis on a seat occupant's head, said headrest being mounted to said second end;   latch releasably fixing said post in a selected vertical position;   said latch fixing said post in a selected vertical position by engaging a notch formed in said post, said notch having a notch axis, said notch axis being oriented parallel to said seat axis,   said latch including a lock clip;   said lock clip having a first end and a second end;   said first end engaging said notch so as to fix said post in a selected vertical position and being disengageable so as to permit said post to be selectively raised or lowered; and   said notch having a face against which said latch bears in a locked position, a wall against which said latch bears to vertically support said headrest and a ramp which permits movement in a selected vertical direction.   
     
     
       6. A head rest lock for a vehicle seat back comprising: a sleeve adopted to be mounted to said seat back, said sleeve being of substantially cylindrical form and having an aperture of substantially cylindrical form;   a post of substantially cylindrical form having an exterior surface, a first end slidably receivable in said aperture and a second end opposite said first end;   a headrest for resisting loads imposed by vehicle acceleration or deceleration along a seat axis on a seat occupant's head, said headrest being mounted to said second end;   a latch releasably fixing said post in a selected vertical position;   said latch fixing said post in a selected vertical position by engaging a notch formed in said post, said notch having a notch axis, said notch axis being oriented parallel to said seat axis,   said latch including a lock clip;   said lock clip having a first end and a second end;   said first end engaging said notch so as to fix said post in a selected vertical position and being disengageable so as to permit said post to be selectively raised or lowered   said second end being formed and arranged so that it may be fixed in said sleeve and operation of said latch biases said first end away from said second end such that said first end extends out of said notch and said cylindrical portion can pass said first end thereby permitting said post to be selectively raised or lowered;   said post being a first post;   said headrest being supported by said first post and a second post, whereby said headrest is restricted from rotational movement relative to said seat back.   
     
     
       7. The invention according to claim 6 and: said notch being oriented to permit the vertically upward movement of said headrest without releasing said latch and to resist the vertically downward movement of said headrest unless said latch is released.   
     
     
       8. The invention according to claim 6 and: said notch being a first notch;   said post having a second notch being a square sectional notch configured so as to resist upward and downward movement unless said latch is released.